(Photo courtesy of NPR) “Trump signing an executive order to end all DEI programs and policies”

Tristin Henson

Connector Staff

Trump signed an executive order that stated diversity, equity, and inclusion policies for recipients of federal grants would end. This executive order caused concern not only among individual students at colleges that received those federal grants but also the colleges themselves. Trump’s administration states that nine universities that have endowments over $1 billion would be subject to investigations to try to stop DEI programs and principles (The Boston Globe, 2025). To try and stop this from happening to them, many universities have started to exclude diversity and inclusion from their websites, their work and their policies. Some of these universities include Northeastern, who got rid of the terms ‘diversity and inclusion’ from their website. Harvard, which advised researchers to stop working on DEIA-related activities, and Rutgers, which canceled a virtual conference about increasing the number of apprenticeships at Historically Black Colleges after receiving a “stop work” order by a grant funded by the Department of Labor. Relating to this specific case at Rutgers, there has also been the worry of whether or not certain classes will be taught after this executive order, and professors who teach or specialize in academics that would be considered included in the framework of ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ have become worried for their jobs. Something else that caused universities to realize just how much power the current administration has over them was the pauses to federal grants and research funding on Jan. 27. This order was reversed a few days later, however, National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant application reviews remain frozen.

Officials with the University of New Hampshire and the University of Massachusetts told the Boston Globe that there have been no changes to DEI programs or personnel so far. Marty Meehan, president of the UMass system, says “It won’t change our commitment to diversity and our commitment to inclusiveness… It means a lot of companies and nonprofits are looking at what language we use to identify that mission” (The Boston Globe, 2025). There have, so far, been no changes to the language in at least UMASS Lowell’s diversity and inclusion web pages and policies. However, there is still concern in the air when it comes to certain federal funding that UMASS Lowell usually receives.

Anne Maglia, the Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation at UMass Lowell, says “One of the university’s most consistent partners, the National Science Foundation is conducting a review of its projects and programs to ensure compliance, and aims to communicate with PIs [Multiple Principal Investigators] regarding any updates. As of today, PIs on NSF projects and all others should continue their research as usual until we hear directly from the funding agency.”

Julie Chen, the Chancellor of UMass Lowell, has provided a public announcement about the recent federal activity, in which she says, “As of this moment, student aid, including direct loans, Pell Grants and other mechanisms, has not been impacted by the federal government’s policies…UMass Lowell’s mission [is] ensuring the safety and well-being of our students and employees, while providing a world-class education. This mission is served by broadly providing research and education opportunities, and we remain firmly committed to that work.”